[timluc0428]

Me and my wife adopted a Japanese chin named batman from the shelter. We brought him home yesterday (Tuesday) evening. He was so calm last night and this morning that when I left for work at 11:30 I decided to not put him in the kennel and see how he did for the 5 hours he would be alone. I was extra careful to check and make sure all doors were tightly shut and locked. It's been getting pretty hot here lately so I left a window with a screen open. Batman somehow figured out that the screen wasn't perfectly secure and pushed till it bent open and got out. Less than a day after we got him.

I was totally freaking out, looking everywhere for him, while my wife called the shelter. Thankfully they have him. I feel like such a bad person. I guess it's "kennel up" everytime he's alone.

 

[aiw]

When my family first got a kitten he hid underneath a bookcase and we thought he had jumped out a window... terrifying. And a really good lesson. Everyone was in tears and you can bet we never made that mistake again. Batman (super cute name!) doesnt really know that this is home yet so hes pretty eager to head out on his own, caution is the name of the game here. Also, no off-leash activites for at LEAST a month after you get him, even though 2 weeks in it will feel like you've had him forever. When you do let him off make sure its a securely fenced area for practising recall.

 

[denise3099]

lol--sorry but I wonder what the shelter thought when he showed up like a bad penny. That's actually really cute. Carmen ran out the porch door when my daughter went off to school--I was in a towel at the time. I thought I'd lost my brand new dog! You'll look back and laugh.

 

[Titan84]

When my family first got a kitten he hid underneath a bookcase and we thought he had jumped out a window... terrifying. And a really good lesson. Everyone was in tears and you can bet we never made that mistake again. Batman (super cute name!) doesnt really know that this is home yet so hes pretty eager to head out on his own, caution is the name of the game here.

That reminds me of when we moved into our new house a few years back. My cat, who I've had since before I even met my wife, disappeared the day we moved in. Some friends had been helping us move so I was just SURE he snuck out during all the door opening. We looked EVERYWHERE, including around the neighborhood. I was absolutely devastated (this cat is the closest I've ever been with a pet). Even cancelled dinner with friends because I was so upset.

Then about 2 hours later my wife finds him. He was hiding underneath an ottoman. Now you might be saying "But I thought you looked everywhere?". Well, I didn't mention that this is a 28 lb Maine **** cat so I never in a million years thought he could even fit underneath an ottoman with about a 4" clearance LOL.

OP, no reason to feel like a bad person or "parent". Just a lesson learned.

 

[mashlee08]

Hahahaha^^^^ oh i love that story about the cat, can't tell you how many I have about my burmese who seems go missing every time we move. One night he actually got out when it was raining once and the next door neighbours had dug up all the sewerage pipes in their yard, i was looking for hours, and then he comes running up to the porch covered head to tail in mud. And he looked at me like im home now mum dinner time!
OP don't feel bad its part of the hole process! All the stress and fussing over your new baby will go away eventually! I know I fussed over my dog for aaaaages when she first came home. It's a funny story you can all remember later on.

 

[timluc0428]

lol--sorry but I wonder what the shelter thought when he showed up like a bad penny. That's actually really cute. Carmen ran out the porch door when my daughter went off to school--I was in a towel at the time. I thought I'd lost my brand new dog! You'll look back and laugh.

I know that's what I was thinking as soon as I heard they had him. Poor batman has now been in the shelter 4 times since may. Well if nothing else batman gained a new middle name from all this. He's now batman Houdini. Lol

 

[UF Girl]

It happens, don't beat yourself up over it. We all have those stories and now so do you. It's like a right of passage.

Many years ago my ex-husband and I were in New Orleans and we brought our ferret with us. We were staying in this nice 5 star hotel right on Bourbon St. We went out and left him in the bathroom. When we got back the bathroom door was wide open and we couldn't find him anywhere. The worst part was their was a good 2"-3" gap under the door that he easily could have gotten out of. After about 15 minutes of true panicking and going up and down the hall and thinking how in the world am I going to explain this to the hotel, he crawls out from under the bed. There was a whole in the box spring and he was chilling up in there.

 

[timluc0428]

We got batman back yesterday!!!!! He was so excited to see us! He would not stop jumping. Today when we woke up he followed us around everywhere we went. After three hoursish he would let me out of his sight for 1 minute minute at most. I got in the shower while he wasn't paying attention and when I got out he was laying on the rug just outside bath tub. How cute?!

When I went to work he DEFINITELY went in the kennel! Lol. Never again will he get away!!! I thought I was going to be sick

 

[LadyBugAnBuddy]

I'm so glad you got your baby back!

~Erica~

 

[Amaryllis]

Don't feel bad. The transporter lost kabota for half an hour while delivering him to me, them the second day I had him, he slipped his collar and ran off. Then he escaped again a few weeks ago. Some dogs are born escape artists.

Although "Batman" doed seem like a particularly prescient name choice.

 

[timluc0428]

After Hearing the story my coworkers decided batman must have seen the "bat" light flash in the clouds. Either way glad he's back with us. Thanks, everyone for reassuring me I'm not the first to have similar circumstance.

 

[hamandeggs]

This happens a lot with recent rescues, too. They don't quite understand that home is home yet. Also, some dogs (like mine) find being crated to be less stressful than having run of the house. Now that you know he's an escape artist, you can take those extra precautions.

Batman is adorable (saw his pic in other thread) and I love that you kept the name!